Chocolate Beer And Bacon Cake

Chocolate Beer & Bacon Cake

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott/Not Quite Nigella

I adore Nigella, I love her passion for cooking and she is one sexy Mumma!

The one thing I love about this cake is that is has beer AND bacon in it! I am going to give it a go on the weekend.

Do you have a favorite recipe you like to cook that includes beer? If so I would love to hear from you.

Jo xx

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes

  • 1 cup beer (your favourite kind)
  • 250g/8.83ozs butter
  • 1/2 cup mascarpone or cream cheese, softened (you could even use sour cream)
  • 1 3/4 cups plain all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
  • 3/4 cup cocoa, sifted
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 350g/12.36ozs. brown sugar
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature
  • 200g/7ozs. dark chocolate chips
  • 2 rashers streaky bacon, fried and then cut up into squares*

Chocolate gloss icing

  • 175g/6 ozs dark chocolate drops
  • 150ml/ 5 fl. ozs double cream
  • 1 tablespoon butter

*You can add more bacon to this recipe by chopping up 4 cooked rashers finely and sprinkling it on top of the cake or along the sides. It depends on how much you want the bacon flavour – it is a great addition to the cake

Step 1 – Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a long rectangular tin with parchment on the base and sides. In a saucepan, melt the butter and add the beer. Whisk in the mascarpone.

Step 2 – Sift the flour, cocoa, bicarb and salt into a large bowl. I usually never sift things but cocoa tends to be lumpy as does bicarb and you don’t want lumps of either. In a jug whisk the sugar and eggs together. Pour half of the butter beer mix into the flour and then half the sugar egg mix and then repeat until it is mixed together. Add in the chocolate chips and stir to distribute. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes. Cool in the tin for a few hours or overnight.

Step 3 – Trim the cake so that it sits flat when upturned. Place the cake on a cooling rack with a tray underneath to catch the drips. Brush away any little crumbs. You can of course do a chocolate ganache crumb coat beforehand but I was running out of time.

Step 4 – Place the chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl and melt them together over simmering water or in a microwave. Stir in the butter. Pour three quarters of the icing over the whole cake, making sure it covers the top and the sides completely, scooping up the excess from the tray with a palette knife as necessary. Use the remaining 1/4 of the icing to patch up any gaps with a palette knife. Place the bacon on top and allow the icing to set.

A Hickie From Kenickie Is Like A Hallmark Card

What is a hickey and how are they caused? (I know you all know the answer to this, but let me explain it anyway!)

A hickey, also known as a “love bite” or “kiss mark” is essentially a bruise caused by sucking or aggressively kissing another person’s flesh. It is initially red in color, due to broken blood vessels beneath the skin. It will later turn purple or dark brown as it heals….

So when is it appropriate to go out in public with a giant one planted on your neck? At what age is it acceptable to give or receive? When is the right time to whack on a scarf or use some spac filler and concealer and cover that MOFO up! … I will tell you when .. from the day you turn 39!!!

Why am I writing a post about hickeys I hear you ask? MY HUSBAND landed one on my neck last weekend. I was HORRORMORTIFIED! (yes, thats a new word). I had friends over and I could see them looking, laughing in their heads all the while I played it cool and pretended nothing was wrong, they all knew better than to ask me.

The WORST part about this was when myself and the husband went shopping and we were in a department store and two teenagers walked past. The young male species, approximately 17,  had multiple hickeys on display. He was wearing them with an immense amount of pride as he strutted hand in hand with his 16 year old looking skinny (I’m not bitter) girlfriend. He did not have a care in the world. He was delighted with his life. He caught my husbands eye and they gave each other the bro code nod, all women out there know just what that is.

I CRINGED, put my head down and ran for cover holding my neck as though I had been bitten by a vampire in the middle of the shopping centre and needed urgent medical assistance. I mean seriously, is it necessary?

I could NOT go to school for two days!! I made my husband do the drop off as there was just NO way to cover it up! What are you supposed to say when you are 39 with a giant hickey from kenickie on your neck.
There are many trusted methods to get rid of them, such as Aloe Vera and hemorrhoid cream but there is still no excuse for such behavior!! and if my daughters ever came home with them I would be horrified.
So in the wake of this event I am curious to know, when are you too old for a hickey?

Adam Turner At Bat Again

Copied directly from Vertical Hold’s FB page

Once again Vertical Hold’s Adam Turner takes social media giant Facebook to task for its appalling treatment of page owners:

“Facebook’s ongoing campaign of punishing users over rule violations, while refusing to explain the charges so users can defend the allegations, continues to devastate page owners who’ve built up millions of followers.”

Full story at the following link-

Facebook Executioner Style Bans

The Aussie Hits Another Home Run

Copied directly from Vertical Hold’s FB page

Once again Vertical Hold’s Adam Turner takes social media giant Facebook to task for its appalling treatment of page owners:

“Facebook’s ongoing campaign of punishing users over rule violations, while refusing to explain the charges so users can defend the allegations, continues to devastate page owners who’ve built up millions of followers.”

Full story at the following link-

Facebook Executioner Style Bans